Roundtable: Soft power or sportswashing? The politics of the FIFA World Cup 2022

This roundtable discussed the politics of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar - the most controversial sports event in living memory (arguably ever). From the moment Qatar was awarded the World Cup by FIFA in December 2010, it has been a subject of significant contestation. Accusations of corruption in the bidding process immediately followed the initial shock and surprise at the decision. These claims seemed to be strengthened by the apparent practical difficulties of hosting a (initially summer) sports event in a small desert state, where the average summer temperatures reach a searing 41C and which lacked an existing infrastructure to support such an undertaking.
The intervening twelve years have witnessed the increasing politicisation of the tournament, with reference to expositions of the corruption in FIFA, scrutiny of Qatar's human rights record and treatment of migrant workers, and the rights (or lack of) of women and the LBGTQ+ community in the country.
Amid all this political tumult, a football tournament has managed to break out! As we pause and take a breath between the semi-finals and ultimate final, the Sport and Politics group of the UK Political Studies Association has convened a one-off roundtable to assess the impact and implications of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Chaired by Dr Danny Fitzpatrick (Aston University), the roundtable will begin with a keynote address from Susan Ziadeh, the former ambassador U.S. Ambassador to Qatar and now adjunct Professor Georgetown University. We are also delighted to be joined by Dr Danyel Reiche (Visiting Associate Professor, Georgetown University Qatar) and Dr Paul Brannagan (Senior Lecturer, (Manchester Metropolitan University), following the publication of their book, ‘Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change’ (2022).